A Japril Jolex Slexie Black Friday
by Serendipity Cullen
Summary: AU. In the universe where plane crashes, denied proposals, and sentenced babies don't exist, there is something that does exist. Black Friday! Can Jackson Avery survive Black Friday so that his lovely Danielle has the toy of her dreams? All characters belong to Shonda Rhimes/Grey's Anatomy.


**A/N - Since the wonderful readers loved the Thanksgiving story so much, I was inspired to write an additional short story featuring the 3 beloved couples. Now, this is old school Black Friday where the pleasant lines do no exist! Let's see what happens when the guys have to get down & dirty for a toy! Enjoy!**

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><p><span>A Japril, Jolex, Slexie Black Friday<span>

Jackson Avery groaned as his arm shot out from under the blankets, smacking off the alarm at five am. That's right, five am. It was five am on a Friday morning, and he _didn't_ have to go in to the hospital. The plastic surgeon had done some juggling of his schedule, but he'd managed to get a Friday off.

But this wasn't just any Friday.

It was **Black Friday**.

That's right, the day after Thanksgiving! The official start of the holiday shopping season. Every retail store in the nation had unbelievably low prices to lure in the shoppers. Normally Jackson couldn't care less about Black Friday sales, but things had changed. He was now a father of three children who desired the newest, hottest toys on the market.

"Jackson?" his wife, April, whispered from beside him. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake," he grumbled in return. He knew what his lovely wife was really getting at-it was time for him to get his butt out of the bed and get to the store. The doors opened in less than an hour!

"Do you remember what to get?" the redhead asked as he dragged his body from the bed and stumbled towards the bathroom.

"The pink princess castle," Jackson replied as he started the shower.

April shifted to a sitting position and bit her lip. Perhaps she had made a mistake sending Jackson to the store on the kick-off of holiday shopping. The man she adored was taking a shower...that clearly showed that he had no idea what he was doing! He should have left the house an hour ago! "Are you sure you don't want me to go?" she offered as he turned off the shower.

"No, April, I've got this," her husband replied as he wrapped the towel around his waist and left the bathroom. "You go every year...you deserve some time off." He crossed to the bed and put his hand on her stomach. "Besides, you need as much rest as you can get." The man hoped their fourth child was a boy! The Avery name had to be carried on!

"Jackson, I'm fine, really," the mother of his children assured him as he moved to the closet and dressed quickly.

"So am I," Jackson replied. "We save lives every day, dear. I'm sure I can handle a crowd at the store. See you soon."

"You have no idea what you're getting into," April mumbled as he left the room.

The Avery father checked in on his three daughters before retrieving the keys from the hook by the door and leaving his warm home behind. Gosh, he hated Seattle! It was raining already!

Right away, Jackson noticed that the streets were more crowded than they should be at five thirty on a Friday morning. Yesterday was a holiday-weren't people home sleeping? Or hung over? Why were so many people on the road so early? The man's eyes widened as he pulled his car into the parking lot of the retail store. "Holy crap," he muttered as he spotted the long line leading away from the closed doors of the store. The sale didn't start for half an hour! Why were there a hundred people lined up outside?

After parking at least half a mile away from the store, Jackson stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked towards the store as if it were his death sentence. This wasn't going to be nearly as easy as he thought it was going to be! The man joined the line behind a group of three ladies who clearly had their act together. Each of them had a sales paper, a hand drawn map of the store, and a whistle. They were obviously working together to get what they wanted for their children. Jackson felt more and more inept as the women babbled on about their game plan. "Excuse me," he interrupted. "Look, this is my first time, so...can I have a piece of advice?"

The three women looked at him and laughed before the blonde finally answered, "Run towards what you want and get it by any means necessary."

Jackson blinked. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding, son?"

The father took a careful step back, giving the women a wide berth. These people were crazy! Nothing was worth all of this! The surgeon looked around, avoiding making eye contact with the women, when he spotted a familiar face near the beginning of the line. "Sloan?" he yelled, stepping out of line and cupping his hands around his mouth. "Sloan!"

Mark Sloan turned, seeing his partner in crime. The other member of the Plastic Posse. "Avery!" he yelled back and waved the younger man towards the front of the line. "Oh, pipe down," he frowned towards the grumbling customers. "It's only one other person, sheesh."

"How did you get at the front of the line?" Jackson asked as he approached his mentor. "The doors don't open for like fifteen more minutes."

"Rookie," Mark chuckled and shook his head. "I was here at three."

"In the morning?!" the plastic surgeon asked incredulously.

"Yep," the older man confirmed and rubbed his hands together.

"That's insane."

"Yeah, well, it got me at the head of the line," Mark smirked before stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What are you after?"

Jackson sighed and rubbed his temple; he was already getting a headache. "Danielle wants this princess castle..."

"Meagan wants the same thing!"

"April says it's _the_ toy of the year, whatever that means."

Mark laughed to himself. It was clear his boy was out of his league. Jackson was going to walk into that store a boy and come out a man. "It means it's the most advertised, so every little girl wants it. Lexie has warned me that if I don't come home with that castle, I may as well not even come home."

"Seriously?" Jackson asked, his brows knitting together.

"Oh yeah," his mentor nodded. "That's the only thing Meagan wants, and Lexie doesn't want her upset on Christmas."

"She'll get over it," the younger surgeon shrugged. "Life goes on."

Mark chuckled and shook his head. "Rookie."

The two men stood outside and discussed upcoming surgeries a few moments before an employee dressed in blue approached the doors with the key in hand.

"Hey, they're pushing," Jackson frowned as he was shoved in to Mark.

"Get ready Avery, shit is about to get real!"

The inexperienced father blinked at the man before him. Mark was clearly a pro at this, and at the moment, Jackson wished he had discussed this whole Black Friday shopping trip with his mentor before they left the hospital Wednesday night. He was clearly not ready for this, and these people were going to eat him alive! "What do I do?"

"Go for the castle and don't let it go," Mark advised as the doors opened and the crowd flooded inside.

Jackson was shoved to the side as everyone rushed through the doors, scattering like ants. "Shit!" he cursed, realizing he was behind in the game yet again! After dashing inside, Jackson started towards the toy section, running headlong into a couple. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized. "Alex?"

"Avery?" Alex Karev questioned as he stared at his coworker. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Trying to get that!" Jackson breathed and pointed to the boxed castle in the man's hands.

"Hands off, Jackson!" Jo Wilson-Karev exclaimed and smacked his hand hard.

"Seriously?" the plastic surgeon frowned as he recoiled and rubbed his stinging hand.

"Seriously," the brunette sassed.

"Where did you get that?" the father breathed. "I have to get one for Danielle!" He felt the anxiety rising as he realized that more and more shoppers were turning up with pink castle boxes in their hands...which meant the chance of his daughter getting one was becoming smaller and smaller.

Alex looked at his friend for a second before rolling his eyes. "Jo, take this to the register and go home. Avery will give me a ride." He thrust a few bills into his wife's hand.

"You're going in for another one?" Jo asked, looking between the two men.

"His daughter needs one," the peds surgeon grumbled before pecking her cheek. "I'll be home soon."

"If you see that blonde bitch again, tell her I'm looking for her!"

"What the hell is that about?" Jackson asked and he and Alex moved towards the toy section.

Alex grinned wickedly. "This woman tried to take Jo's castle, and she damn near got decked!"

"The woman was going to _take_ it from her?"

The brown haired man blinked. "Is this your first Black Friday?"

"Yeah."

Alex nodded knowingly, remembering his first time three years ago. "Well, Avery, you're about to get your cherry popped."

The two men rounded the corner and Jackson stopped in his tracks, his eyes growing large. The normally docile toy aisle looked like a bar room brawl. People were pushing, yelling, grabbing, and cursing. "Sloan?!" Jackson asked as the older man staggered towards them with a castle box clutched to his chest. "What happened?"

The normally clean cut, put together Mark Sloan looked like he'd been hit by a Mac truck. His hair was a mess, his shirt was torn, and it seemed that a bruise was developing around his eye. "I got one!" the mentor exclaimed. "I got one!"

"Who cares if you got one!" Jackson exclaimed. "Are you okay? Did someone punch you?"

"Yeah, this jerk thought he was taking my castle, but I showed him who's boss!"

The younger surgeon rocked back on his heels. Nothing, absolutely _nothing_ was worth all of this. He turned slightly, prepared to leave the craziness behind, but then he thought of his oldest daughter and how heartbroken she'd be if she didn't get the one thing she'd been begging April for; Jackson couldn't bear to think of that gorgeous redhead with his eyes crying on Christmas morning. "I don't guess you'd be willing to go in for another one, huh?" he asked his mentor hopefully.

"Hell naw, Avery, I like you, but not that much!"

Jackson ran a hand over his head and looked towards the display. "Okay, guys, what do I do?"

"Get in there," Alex advised, pushing him towards the mayhem. "Elbow them out of the way if you have to! You're tall, so go for one towards the top."

"Hey, Avery!" Mark called as Jackson started towards the crowd. "If you see one in a basket, grab it!"

Jackson made a face. "I will not!"

"He's right!" Alex chimed in. "If it's not in someone's hands, it's open season!"

The surgeon shook his head as he started towards the display; it was hard to believe that the two men who were encouraging him to steal and eye gauge were professional surgeons. Taking a deep breath, Jackson started to edge his way through the crowd. "Excuse me," he asked politely. "Excuse me!"

It was clear that the people around him were not responding to pleasantries. These people were down and dirty, out to get the prize toy for their child at a rock bottom price! The Avery heir could play dirty if he had to! Jackson started pushing and elbowing his way towards the display, a box within reach; just as he leaned towards the toy, a man on his right snatched the box away and disappeared to the side. The father stood dumbfounded and promptly got pushed to the back of the line by the mob of people.

Jackson stood for a few seconds, watching as more and more boxes disappeared. There were only a few left, and it seemed his precious Danielle would not be getting one! Turning in defeat, the man hung his head and left the display behind.

"Avery, what happened?!" Mark asked as his plastics partner approached him.

"It's not worth it," Jackson shook his head. "Those people are rude, and I just...I can't do that..."

"Goody goody," Alex snipped.

"Jackson, stop being nice!" Mark exclaimed, grabbing the man's shoulders and shaking him. "Get back in there and get your daughter the toy she wants!"

The father snatched from his mentor's grasp. "Let me buy yours! I'll pay double!"

"No way, man! Lexie will kill me!"

Jackson looked to Alex. "Let me buy yours, Karev. I'll pay triple!"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Do you want Jo to kick your ass?"

The pretty boy ran a frustrated hand over his head. "Well, I'm not going back in there, so I guess Danielle doesn't get her toy! April can just kill _me_."

Mark rolled his eyes. Jackson was too nice for his own good; it was clear the guy had no idea how these Black Friday toy deals worked-what kind of idiot got to the store half an hour before it opened?! It had taken Mark several years to figure things out, but now he had a fool-proof system: get in there early, grab it, run, and lock it in your car. Right now, Meagan's pink castle was securely locked in the trunk of his BMW. "Alright, Avery, let's go." The man put his arm around Jackson's shoulders, then stopped. "Karev," he hissed, turning towards Alex. "Look over there!"

Alex followed Mark's gaze and spotted a group of women with a basket-a basket holding four pink castles. "Auction sites?" he asked.

"Yep," the older man nodded. "There's three of them and four castles. That's _exactly_ what's going on."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jackson asked, looking between the two men.

"Look," Alex pointed. "They're stocking up to sell online at twice the price."

"Maybe I can buy one from them then," the Plastic Posse member shrugged.

"Or," Mark grinned wickedly, "you can go over there and take one."

"I can't do that!"

"Yes you can!" Alex chimed in. "Just go in from behind and grab one! We'll cover you."

Jackson began to shake his head, but stopped, Danielle's face coming to his mind. He couldn't believe he was about to resort to such a low level, but...desperate times called for desperate measures. "You got my back?"

"We've got your back," they replied simultaneously.

The three men moved towards the basket. Mark gave Jackson a nod as he moved to the right and Alex moved to the left. Both men slipped between the women and the basket, acting as if they were trying to obtain a castle toy. Jackson bit his lip and eased over to the basket, grasping a box and easing it from the cart carefully, as if it were a bomb. He clutched the castle to his chest and backed away slowly, giving a short whistle to his accomplices. Seconds later Mark and Alex backed away from the crowd as well.

"Good going, Avery!" Alex beamed.

"I didn't think you had it in you," Mark chuckled and clapped him on the back.

"Desperate times, man," Jackson muttered, not really happy with himself in the moment. For some reason, he felt dirty. The do-gooder tried to pep talk himself as he walked towards the register-it was clear that the group of women were doing exactly as his friends predicted; they probably _were_ stocking up to make a killing on eBay.

"Hey!" a woman's voice ran through the store. "Someone took my princess castle!"

"Go, go, go!" Mark hissed, pushing Jackson towards the register.

The Avery heir not only took a toy from another woman's basket, but he ran towards the register as if he...had just stolen something. Oh, his mother would be so proud.

"Hurry up, man, they're looking at you!" Alex exclaimed as Jackson hurriedly paid the cashier.

"Go!" Mark barked as Jackson retrieved the receipt.

The three men raced from the store, dispersing two separate ways. Jackson and Alex hopped into his car and sped from the parking lot as the women ran through the doors of the store. Once they were a safe distance from the store, the two began laughing hysterically. In their younger days, the men predicted they'd be running out of bedrooms or ducking into on-call rooms; neither of them predicted they'd be running from a toy store because they'd just purchased a hot item for their children. Life was truly comical.

On Christmas morning, three little girls-Meagan Sloan, Danielle Avery, and Tiffany Karev-squealed with delight as they unwrapped a pink princess castle. The girls had no idea how much their fathers loved them, and what they had gone through for them.

Jackson watched proudly as Danielle ripped into the castle, completely oblivious to her other toys. Yes, it was worth it, and he would gladly endure Black Friday again next year.


End file.
